Culture Ministry flags adat recognition gap, urges Bali data checks

Denpasar — — The Culture Ministry has called for stronger intergenerational engagement and closer support from regional governments, universities and adat organisations to sustain Indonesia’s customary communities, while highlighting a continuing gap between identification and formal recognition at the opening of the Festival Lentera Wacana Masyarakat Adat Nusantara in Denpasar on Friday, 18 September 2026.

According to Sjamsul Hadi, director of the ministry’s Directorate for Belief in God Almighty and Adat Communities, the existence of adat communities cannot be left to central government and the communities alone.

He told the forum that regional administrations, universities and indigenous organisations must play a stronger role in safeguarding identity and transmitting customary values to younger generations, including through education and community-based initiatives.

Recognition remains uneven

Sjamsul said the directorate is integrating information from its internal data, the Indigenous Territories Registration Agency and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) to build a national picture of adat communities.

Based on this integrated data, 3,857 adat communities have been identified across Indonesia, but only 786 have so far received formal recognition from regional governments.

He noted that this recognition gap has direct implications for how communities are included in spatial planning, protection of customary rights, access to public services and participation in cultural development programmes.

At the festival, speakers also underlined the need for stronger regulation on adat rights, including the stalled Indigenous Peoples Bill (RUU Masyarakat Hukum Adat), which has yet to be passed despite years of discussion in national politics.

Bali’s data still needs customary checks

For Bali, the directorate has registered 35 adat-community records and five belief organisations in Sidakerta, the ministry’s integrated information system for belief organisations and adat communities.

Sjamsul explained that these records still need to be verified through dialogue with customary leaders and desa adat institutions.

Bali has around 1,500 desa adat, or customary villages, making local verification essential to ensure national data accurately reflects community structures and territories.

Sjamsul told the forum that adat territories do not always follow administrative village boundaries, and a single customary territory can extend across multiple villages, districts or regencies.

He cited the Tengger community as an example of how adat territories can span four regencies in East Java while recognition processes proceed at different speeds in each area.

Universities and adat organisations as partners

The directorate has developed cooperation with 23 universities, including Udayana University, Gadjah Mada University and the University of Indonesia, to strengthen attention to adat communities and support research, documentation and policy input.

Sjamsul also said the ministry is working with 42 partner organisations, among them AMAN, to support recognition, protection and the fulfilment of adat rights through advocacy, data sharing and capacity building.

At the festival in Udayana University’s Aula Nusantara, these partnerships were discussed alongside broader challenges facing adat communities, including globalisation, investment pressure and environmental change.

Speakers from academia, indigenous organisations and regional stakeholders stressed that adat communities are not only guardians of cultural heritage but also key actors in governance, social cohesion and sustainable development.

Beyond legal status

Sjamsul emphasised that formal recognition and data systems are necessary but not sufficient to ensure the long-term continuity of adat communities.

He argued that without strong transmission of values, knowledge and customary institutions between generations, there is a risk that younger residents may become detached from adat life, even when legal recognition exists.

The discussions in Denpasar pointed to a need for integrated support that connects legal recognition with education, community media, economic strategies and participation of young people in adat decision-making.

For Bali, the next practical step outlined at the 18 September event is customary verification of the 35 adat-community records registered in Sidakerta, followed by regional-government decisions on recognition and programme support based on that data.

Sources

• BALIPOST.com
• Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi – Directorate performance report 2021